The Light Shines
by QuickStrike15
Summary: Sage fights all alone to stop the Dynasty from winning, but he can't keep up the vigil forever. Can he find the strength inside to get his friends back? Eighth in a series.


The Light Shines  
  
Written by  
QuickStrike15  
(TieanBrice@aol.com)  
  
Sage is locked in combat with Gara, while the other Ronin Warriors are getting separate beatings from Dynasty soldiers.  
RYO: "Get away from me!" He swats at over a dozen soldiers, but misses his target completely. He then gets kicked in the stomach, and falls back to the ground, where they proceed to stomp on him.  
ROWEN: "I can take all of you!" He shoots two soldiers down, but ten more take their place, slap Rowen's bow from his hands, and grab him so each soldier can take their own separate hit.  
KENTO: "All right, creeps, you asked for it!" Kento swings his staff over his head. "Iron Rock--" A soldier leaps up from behind, and throws Kento to the ground. They grab his staff, and start hitting him with it. "No! Stop it!"  
SEKHMET: "Come now, you don't want to dance with me!" Sekhmet swings his swords around, warding off most of the soldiers. But a few come up that he doesn't scare off, and together, they penetrate his defenses. He goes down with a few well-placed punches.  
DAIS: "Back off, you walking garbage cans!" Dais takes out a good number with his speed, but the number grows beyond his control, and they tackle him.  
GARA: "This is excellent, the Ronin Warriors are finally falling!"  
SAGE: "What?!" Sage tries his best to look around, and sees Cye and Kale in trouble. "I've got to help them!"  
GARA: "Oh, no, you don't! I'm not nearly finished with you yet!" He pulls back, and gives an even better slice for Sage to block.  
SAGE: "Darn! I can't seem to hold him back! He really is the most powerful of the Dark Warlords. I need combined armor, and it doesn't look anyone's going to want to help me at this point."  
GARA: "Say your prayers, Ronin, because Aplat's ascension isn't very far off, and you have way too long to go!"  
SAGE: "You just said the magic word!" He slips away from Gara's blade assault, and pops him one in the jaw.  
GARA: "Ow! Blast you!" Sage then gives twin punches to the stomach, leaps up, and tries a slice. Gara recovers, and blocks. Sage falls to the ground. "Ah, I knew I liked you. No one else could have gotten by me like that. But I wouldn't try it again, you'll most assuredly end up dead."  
SAGE: "How about we each write up our own destiny on this battlefield, okay? You may win, I may win, but no one knows just yet."  
GARA: "Trust me, I know!" He lifts his blade over his head, and Sage finds an opening.  
SAGE: "Thunderbolt Cut!" He slashes right into Gara's stomach.  
GARA: "No, it's not possible!" He drops his sword, and grabs the wound.  
SAGE: "I've just written your end, Gara. Next time, don't underestimate the power of your opponent."  
GARA: "Wise advice. I suggest you do the same!" He laughs, and headbutts Sage, sending the Ronin Warrior to the ground, unconscious. "Ha, ha. Fool, I never suffered more than a mere scratch! You don't have the power to mortally wound me, and now you'll pay for your ignorance!" He picks his sword up.  
  
***  
  
Close by, Kayura is being surrounded by Dynasty soldiers. White Blaze guards her.  
KAYURA: "I suppose our hiding place wasn't good enough!" White Blaze roars at the soldiers to keep them at bay, but they become confident, and jump in. White Blaze transforms into Black Blaze, and pins them down. "Good work, White Blaze! Now it's my turn!" Kayura focuses her energy while Black Blaze fights the soldiers off. "Alleviate the field of those with hate in their hearts!" She throws the staff, and when it plunges itself into the ground, all the soldiers in the immediate war zone are either disintegrated or knocked out. Cye and Sage are freed from their bind.  
CYE: "Oh...what happened?"  
KALE: "That was Ancient magic! It must have been from Kayura!" He stands up, and runs over to where he saw her last. Cye comes around, and follows, when he sees Sage lying on the ground for Gara to skewer.  
CYE: "Sage!!!" He runs as fast as he can toward his fallen ally.  
GARA: "A fraction of the curse dies now!" He brings his sword down hard, when he spots Cye under his attack, holding the blade back. "No!"  
CYE: "I...won't let you...kill my friend!"  
GARA: "Nobody gave you a choice!" He pushes down harder.  
CYE: "I did!" He pushes back harder. "Trust!" His forehead glows with the virtue, as he summons up tremendous strength, enough to get himself back onto his feet, and hold Gara at bay.  
GARA: "What is this? You can't possibly be this strong.  
CYE: "Not always, but what can I say, you caught me at a good time!" He shoves the sword toward Gara, and lets go. The Dark Warlord quickly counters, and swings it down just as Cye escapes. He kneels down to help Sage.  
GARA: "We're not through yet!"  
CYE: "Sage, please wake up! I need you now more than I ever have! We're gonna die unless we work together!"  
GARA: "So, I see you wish to leave this life at the same time as your friend. Very well!" He pulls his sword back. Cye thinks to himself.  
CYE: "I'll never let him hurt you, Sage. Trust me." Sage's forehead begins to glow with his virtue, as he reawakens, and thinks to himself.  
SAGE: "A wise decision. I will."  
GARA: "Good-bye, forever!" He swings it at them, when they both jump up, and escape the swipe. "What?!" He looks up, and sees them both in mid-air, just as they're about to stomp on his head. He gets clobbered in the face, and drops his sword on the way to the ground.  
CYE: "Sage, you woke up!"  
SAGE: "Yeah. And just because I did doesn't mean I didn't trust you."  
CYE: "Of course not, mate."  
SAGE: "Just wanted to make sure, in case you felt like wringing my neck."  
CYE: "That is weird. I haven't felt any animosity toward the rest of you."  
SAGE: "Neither have I. It must be our virtues. This spell must be having a harder time bypassing ours."  
CYE: "And Kale's. Let's go see what happened to him." They run over to Kayura's hiding place.  
KALE: "Just take deep breaths." Cye and Sage come over.  
CYE: "Kale, what happened to her?" They kneel down.  
KALE: "She used a great deal of her own energy to ward off the soldiers. She's so weak now she can barely breathe."  
SAGE: "This is terrible. We have to do something!"  
CYE: "But what? It's not like we have a doctor anywhere nearby. And even if we did, I doubt he'd understand enough about Ancient magics to help heal her!"  
SAGE: "We can't just watch her die! There must be something we can do!" His forehead flashes again, and he gets a vision of The Ancient. "Ancient, you're here!"  
THE ANCIENT: "Yes, I came to help one of my own. She is still very new to the deep worlds of magic our clan possesses, and this is why she struggles to survive now. There is only one thing that can save her at this point."  
SAGE: "Whatever it is, I'll find a way to get it!"  
THE ANCIENT: "Hope. She can never recover without seeing reason to fight. All of you have to be here to pull her back to health."  
SAGE: "It'll be a nightmare, but I'll drag them back kicking and screaming if I have to!"  
THE ANCIENT: "Very good. And remember what you learned earlier. It's the key to returning your friends to their old selves." He fades from view. Sage snaps back.  
SAGE: "I've got it!"  
CYE: "That fast? What can we do?"  
SAGE: "We've got to go get the others, right now!"  
CYE: "What good will that do?"  
SAGE: "I don't have time to explain, come on!" Sage runs off, with Cye right behind.  
CYE: "Kale, watch out for Gara, he shouldn't be out long! We'll be back to help you, just hang on!"  
KALE: "Don't worry, I'll handle it!" He shouts back, then turns to Kayura, and strokes her hair. "I have to."  
  
***  
  
Ryo continues to receive his punishment from the Dynasty soldiers.  
RYO: "You won't...beat me." Just as he's about to go out cold, Sage and Cye rush onto the scene, and save him from the beating.  
SAGE: "Thunderbolt Cut!"  
CYE: "Super Wave Smasher!" They decimate the soldiers with their attacks. They then go over to help Ryo.  
SAGE: "You all right, Ryo?" He extends his hand.  
RYO: "I'm fine." He swats it away, and stands. "I didn't ask for your help. I could have had them on my own!" He turns his back.  
CYE: "So, how are we getting him back on our side?"  
SAGE: "The same thing that saved Rowen from the energy drain. We have to appeal to Ryo's virtue. It'll overtake him, and drive out the nether magic." He shouts to Ryo. "Ryo, while it's extremely virtuous to venture out alone to stop the forces of evil from overtaking the world, when you have help you reject, all of it's thrown out the window!"  
RYO: "Aaahh!!" He grabs his head, when his forehead flashes. Cye and Sage run over to him.  
SAGE: "That's it, Ryo, you can make it! Come back to us!"  
CYE: "Fight, Ryo! You have to uphold virtue! It's a part of you!" Ryo cries out, and red lightning surrounds his body, then fades. He falls to the ground, and his forehead stops flashing. Sage and Cye lift him back up.  
SAGE: "Ryo, you with us?" Ryo comes around.  
RYO: "Yeah, I'm back."  
CYE: "All right! That's one down, four more to go!"  
SAGE: "And we don't have a lot of time. Kayura could give out at any minute!"  
RYO: "Kayura? What's wrong with Kayura?!"  
SAGE: "We'll explain on the way. Start running!" Everyone dashes away.  
  
***  
  
Kento gets his tail kicked by Dynasty soldiers. Then the other three Ronin Warriors jump in, and take them out.  
RYO: "Flare up, now!" Ryo vanquishes the forces.  
KENTO: "No! I was supposed to do that alone! Why did you interfere?!"  
SAGE: "Because if you don't come back and help us, we'll all die, and there will most assuredly be no justice for anyone." Kento keels over.  
KENTO: "No, there must be justice! There has to be!"  
SAGE: "You'll die, Kento! We all will!"  
KENTO: "No, justice has to be upheld!" His forehead flashes, and red lightning surrounds his body. It fades, and he snaps back. "Hey, am I back to normal now?"  
SAGE: "You tell us." He smiles.  
KENTO: "Let's get Aplat for this, all of us." He stands up, and walks over to the others.  
SAGE: "We have to keep going!" They continue running.  
  
***  
  
They visit Rowen, Sekhmet, and Dais, remind them of their virtues, and bring them around. Everyone returns to Kayura as quickly as possible.  
SAGE: "Are we too late, Kale?!" He shouts from a distance.  
KALE: "She's still breathing! Hurry!" Everyone groups around her.  
RYO: "Kayura, we're here. Please, fight this. You can come back to us. Try your hardest." He takes her hand.  
KAYURA: "I'm...glad you're here. We can't defeat Aplat unless we work together. I'll...fight this."  
SAGE: "Good girl." He strokes her hair.  
DAIS: "Look out, above!" Everyone cranes their heads upward in time to stop Gara trying to chop them up. They scatter.  
GARA: "How did you fight the nether magic? Bah, it doesn't matter! Even if you have regrouped, you won't stop me!"  
RYO: "Oh, yeah, you egg slicer? Sage, make the transformation!"  
SAGE: "Ready and willing!" He shuts his eyes, and focuses his energy.  
GARA: "Never! You won't survive to do it!" He darts toward Sage, and in slow motion, jumps into the air, ready to slash him. The other four Ronin Warriors focus, turn into energy balls, and fly into Sage's armor. He sheds it, and dons new golden armor, fusing itself with light. Sage's sword hilt turns gold with a metal halo around it, and his new armor sprouts golden metal wings.  
SAGE: "Now you ready to take me?" He opens his eyes, pulls his sword from his back, and blocks Gara's lethal attempt. The Dark Warlord lands on his feet.  
GARA: "No, it can't be! Not another combined armor!"  
SAGE: "You'd better believe it! I'm going to showdown with Aplat, whether you like it or not! Face that!"  
GARA: "Never! I am the greatest of Aplat's Dark Warlords! I have too much to prove to be defeated by any combined armor! You won't stand in my way to immortality!"  
SAGE: "The way I see it, your time's already up, once Aplat ascends. You'll be of no further use to him! Aplat only uses individuals such as yourself. Once your deed, destroying the Ronin Warriors, is done, he'll stomp you out of existence. So, I may as well win this battle, because I stand for something more than to serve!"  
GARA: "You'll die!" He pulls back, and goes for Sage's throat. Once more, Sage sees him in slow motion.  
SAGE: "He's unguarded, I can attack now!" He sticks his hand through the sword hilt's halo, and wraps the blade around his wrist. He then holds the sword to the sky. It glows with brilliant yellow light. "Fate's electric swipe!" He brings his arm down, and chops Gara straight down the middle.  
GARA: "Well, you proved yourself. Even with all my information, and all my strength, you were able to finish me. Stop Aplat, because if you don't, I can never rest knowing my master spent eternity thinking me a failure." He backs up, drops his sword, and howls in pain, as a giant halo forms behind him, spins from left to right, and at halfway, erases his body in a flash of light. The halo then dissipates.  
SEKHMET: "He...did it."  
DAIS: "That armor was actually enough to destroy Gara."  
KALE: "The power is mind-boggling."  
KAYURA: "They won, huh? I knew they would." She passes out.  
KALE: "Kayura, no!"  
SEKHMET: "Wake up!"  
DAIS: "Please!" Black Blaze roars.  
THE ANCIENT: "Excellent work, Sage. You were able to unlock the final combination armor, the Armor of Archangel."  
SAGE: "That's what this is called. It's amazingly powerful, everything in me seems to be coming from somewhere else."  
THE ANCIENT: "That's how it works. Your power draws from positive energy throughout all worlds, allowing you to access all the extra energy you need."  
SAGE: "Incredible."  
THE ANCIENT: "There's only one challenge left for the group now."  
SAGE: "We face Aplat, together. I'll do everything I can to help our team succeed."  
THE ANCIENT: "Good, keep teamwork in your heart. You'll need like minds to conquer. And be careful, because anything can happen during the final fight. This is all the help I can provide. The rest is up to the Ronin Warriors." He fades from sight. Kayura then awakens.  
KAYURA: "I saw him! The Ancient! He pulled me back!"  
KALE: "Oh, it's good to have you back!" He gives her a gentle hug. Sage lets out a deep breath, and the golden armor fades. The other four reappear.  
RYO: "You did it, Sage."  
KENTO: "Armor of the day?"  
SAGE: "The Armor of Archangel. It's golden, and I get wings!"  
ROWEN: "You're too lucky!"  
CYE: "So, it looks like all five of us gained full power!"  
RYO: "And we can use every bit of it on Aplat." Sekhmet and Kale help Kayura over, with Dais and White Blaze bringing up the rear.  
DAIS: "We ready to hit the road?"  
RYO: "Just about. What we all need now is focus. We can't let any more of Aplat's nether magic affect us like it did today. We have to get a whole lot stronger, or that demon will wipe us completely off the map."  
ROWEN: "You're right."  
KENTO: "I've never feared a fight, but this is gonna take more than brute force."  
CYE: "A lot more."  
SAGE: "We have to gel like we've never gelled before. We have to fight like one."  
KAYURA: "The Ancient magics, they can help. By the time we reach the castle, I should have enough inner strength to use more spells. We can win."  
RYO: "We have to win. Aplat's ascension isn't far away, and I won't let him cross over! Let's go!" Everyone kicks into high gear, and makes a mad dash for Aplat's castle. 


End file.
